Know Your Huge Hard Drives: What's the Right Backup Plan?

External Drive

Price: $70 to $500 The most affordable option, these drives link to one computer at a time using USB, FireWire, eSATA or all three. Most models (such as the Maxtor OneTouch 4 shown here) come with automated backup software. External drives are either desktop or portable models, some as small as a deck of cards.

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Network-Attached Storage (NAS)

Price: $200 to $900 Instead of connecting directly to an individual computer, NAS drives hook into your home network over an Ethernet line. A single drive can back up multiple computers using included software. Some, such as the Iomega StorCenter (right), are even accessible remotely via the Internet.

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Home Server

Price: $600 to $750 A cross between a network-attached drive and a computer, home servers, such as the HP MediaSmart Server (right), maintain accounts for multiple users that can be accessed from any PC on the network. These devices go beyond standard backup and can manage and share music, movies and photos across the network.